net neutrality - should you care about it_ - bbc news

15/04/2015 Net neutrality should you care about it? BBC News

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Net neutrality should you care about it?By Jane WakefieldTechnology reporter

14 May 2014 Technology

What exactly is net neutrality and should you care?

Net neutrality is a term you may have heard but, if askedto explain it in a pub, you might struggle.

You might also question how relevant it is to you and whatyou do online.

Advocates of the principle argue that the debate about hownetworks operate is fundamentally one about the future of theinternet.

Ahead of a crucial US vote on the subject, the BBC hascompiled a guide to all you need to know about net neutrality.

What is net neutrality?

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology



Anyone who has ever looked with envy at the firstclasscarriages on a crowded commuter train and wonderedbitterly why a few get to travel in comfort while the rest arecrammed against each other's armpits will have a goodbasic understanding of net neutrality.

On the net neutrality train, all passengers (ie data) would betreated equally, with no special carriages for those able topay.

This longheld principle that all traffic on the network shouldbe treated the same goes back to the very dawning of theweb and for many enshrines the whole ethos of an openinternet, free from corporate control.

Those in favour of net neutrality argue that the internetservice providers (ISPs) that provide the pipes for contentshould just run the networks and have no say over how andwhat content flows to consumers, as long as it is legal.

But ISPs argue that a tiered internet where those contentproviders prepared to pay can go in an internet "fast lane" isinevitable in today's datahungry net world.

Why is net neutrality in the headlines?



FCC chairman Tom Wheeler has been forced to rethink therules following the court case

Much of the current debate was kickstarted by a landmarkcase in the US in January, which saw ISP Verizonsuccessfully challenging the US Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC) over its net neutrality policy knownformally as the Open Internet rules.

The Court of Appeals struck down two of the three openinternet rules, effectively leaving regulation in limbo andopening the way for ISPs to start charging fees to carrybandwidthhungry data on its networks.

And charge they did. In March Netflix reluctantly agreed topay a fee to Comcast to improve the speed at which itsservice reached consumers' homes.

The changing landscape forced the FCC to rethink its rules,and leaks of what it proposed emerged in April.

The part of the rule change that has sent the industry intouproar is a proposal for socalled fast lanes, allowing ISPs tocharge content providers as long as the terms were



"commercially reasonable".

The details of what the FCC proposes will be revealed on 15May.

It is worth noting that, at this stage, these are just proposalsand that the full rules are not likely to be implemented beforethe end of the year.

What has been the reaction to the proposedchanges?

People are protesting over the proposed changes

It would be fair to say that the FCC has found itself at thecentre of a considerable storm since details about theproposed changes leaked.

Chairman Tom Wheeler's morning mail pile has grownconsiderably, with his recent correspondence including aletter signed by more than 100 tech firms with some ofbiggest names in the industry Google, Amazon, Twitter,Facebook offering their support. The letter calls on the FCCto protect users "against blocking, discrimination and paid



prioritisation".

This was followed by a very similarly worded letter from someof the most highprofile US venture capitalists and anotherfrom more than 80 advocacy groups.

Meanwhile, the FCC's main consumer hotline seems to havebeen overwhelmed by messages about the forthcomingchanges and now asks callers to write an email to thecommission if they are calling about net neutrality.

And to really hammer the message home, a growing numberof protesters are gathering outside the FCC headquarters inWashington ahead of the scheduled vote on the proposals bythe five commissioners.

Already two of them have got cold feet and suggested thatthe vote be delayed.

What are the arguments for changing the rules?

Are internet fast lanes inevitable in today's datahungry world?

ISPs argue that the internet today is a very different beastfrom that of the early days when the net neutrality principle



was enshrined.

Who then could have predicted that we would all be watchingvideo content on our computers and mobile devices?

Carrying such data obviously costs more and ISPs argue thatthe costs of carrying such bandwidthhungry services can nolonger be borne by them alone.

They say that concerns that they plan to block content ordegrade network performance are unfounded and that datadiscrimination in order to guarantee quality of service isactually something consumers should want.

What else could the FCC do?

Consumer advocates are urging the regulatory body to takemore drastic action and reclassify internet service providersas a telecommunication service.

By doing so, the internet would be treated more like a publicutility, such as gas and water, and therefore subject toheavier regulation.

It would mean, say the advocates of net neutrality, that theFCC had more teeth when it came to enforcing net neutrality.

What's the view about net neutrality outside theUS?

Europe is at odds with the US.

In April, the European Parliament voted to restrict ISPs fromcharging services for faster network access.

It also ruled that mobile and broadband network providers



should not be able to block services that competed with theirown offerings.

There are some more legal hurdles for the vote to pass but itcould become law by the end of the year.

Slovenia and the Netherlands have already enshrined theprinciple in their national law.

And in Brazil, a new law has been signed by President DilmaRousseff which establishes that telecom companies cannotchange prices based on the amount of content accessed byusers. It also states that ISPs cannot interfere with howconsumers use the internet.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Chile was the first country to passnet neutrality legislation, back in 2010.

Why should you care?

Depending on which way the decision goes, it could eitherhurt your wallet or your watching habits.

If net neutrality is upheld, ISPs could decide to pass on thecost of delivering bandwidthhungry up the cost of services topay for delivering faster bandwidth and raise the monthly feethey charge for net access.

Users may get a bill that reflects their usage, with those usingvideoondemand services being charged more.

If, on the other hand, ISPs get their way and are able to startcharging fees for prioritised access to content then users mayfind that those websites not in the fast lane are slow to load.

Some fear that ISPs might even block access to rival services



or slow them down so much as to be unusable.

Consumers could also be charged more by the contentproviders forced to pay more to get their services to them inquality.

Anyone thinking this is a USonly issue should note that,following its agreement to pay a fee to Comcast and Verizon,Netflix put up the price for its monthly streaming service inEurope as well as America

net neutrality - should you care about it_ - bbc news

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